Tag: holidays

Aside from skiing, my favorite holiday activity is definitely playing board games. Games are a great way to bring people together and just have some fun. It can also be a good activity that doesn’t bring up any controversial issues at family events (make sure you choose your games wisely though). There are so many games out there these days so choosing a good one can be tough. Here I have compiled my favorites for the holiday season. All are great for larger groups and the level of competition varies from collaborative (Forbidden Island) to fairly competitive (Sushi Go!). I also threw in Cards Against Humanity and What Do You Meme? which are both hilarious card games for adults (great for dinner parties and gatherings with friends).

Sushi Go!: I love this one because you can play with anywhere from 2 to 8 people. It involves both strategy and luck and can be on the more competitive side but is still super fun. The game changes quite a bit with numbers but that is part of the fun! It is a very fast paced game that can be difficult to learn but is quick once you get the hang of it. I recommend getting Sushi Go Party because it allows for many different variations of the game.

Settlers of Catan: This is a fun strategy game that is fairly easy to learn. The draw back of this one is that you can only have 4 players and it can take a while. Play is generally slower and moves take more careful, thought and strategy.

Forbidden Island/Desert: Both of these are fun collaborative games that require everyone to work together in order to win. They are harder to learn because there are lots of things happening and different players have different rules associated with them. There are player limits which can be a downside and it takes on average around 30 minutes to play a game. This is a great option if games easily cause too much competition. As a side note this is one of my favorite games of all time!

Balderdash: I was very reluctant to play this game but when I finally decided to play it ended up being super fun. It is a great way to really get people out of their comfort zones. It is all about improvising and making up words or stories for obscure words. Game play is longer but is not difficult to learn!

Clue: Forever a classic but I had to include it because it is another one of my all time favorite games. There is a lot of suspense and it can be competitive but I think it is generally very fun and pretty easy to learn.

Hedbanz: This is a fun one for large groups of people. There are lots of different versions (I really like some of the apps as well), it is fun way to laugh with everyone. It is also a great way to get everyone to loosen up and have fun. Game play per round is relatively short (depending on how fast people guess) but you can play for as long as you like.

Boggle: Boggle is such a fun word game! There are lots of app versions but the physical Boggle game can be a fun way to get everyone to participate. It is super easy to learn, easy to play and each round is short. I am very excited to try Big Boggle!

Telestrations: This might be my number one pick for family games. It requires little instruction and can be easily played with all generations and still be hilarious. It is kind of like the telephone game (where you whisper a word/phrase and it goes around the circle) but you are interpreting your neighbors interpretation of a statement or drawing. You do have to be able to write and draw so its not for younger kids.

Cards Against Humanity: I probably don’t have to say much about this one. Most people are at least semi-familiar with this hysterical game. I would say the family friendly edition is Apples to Apples (this is definitely for adults).

What do you meme?: This one is actually very new to me but I am convinced that it is the best game for large groups of people. It is very similar to Cards Against Humanity but you are captioning a population meme. Seriously, so so funny. While it is great for friends, I am not sure it would be the best for families (different generations).

I hope you enjoyed this list and it gave you some ideas for what to do over the holidays! Let me know if you have any good ones that I missed!

I decided not to do gift guides this year because there are so many out there and gifts can be really personal (this year lots of mine are specific to the person). I might do them in the future but for now I decided to make a holiday wish list. This can still give others an idea of what to ask for and what to give. Mine is definitely general and I am not expecting to get everything (or even anything) but these are some things I have been wanting for a while.

Align leggings: I don’t need to say much about these but I love Lululemon leggings and I wear leggings almost every day so I am really wanting to try the align tight. This photo is of Zella leggings which are amazing too!

Superga sneakers: These have been in my Nordstrom cart several times but I have just yet to pull the trigger. I know I would wear them a ton and have been on the lookout for some good, comfortable sneakers for a while.

Kitchen Aid mixer: I did not actually ask for a kitchen aid this year but it is on my long term wish list so I wanted to include it.

Cozy hoodie: There are a couple of hoodies that I have had my eye on and this Eberjey one looks especially comfy!

2019 planner: I didn’t specify exactly which one but I definitely like to have a paper planner to organize my days. It helps especially with the longer term things.

Smoothie blender: An easy way to make healthy breakfasts is becoming necessary for grad school!

Last week did a quick post on my favorite show to watch during the holidays and I also wanted to do a post on holiday movies. There are so many! Here I include several classics and several newer movies that make for a great holiday night with loved ones (or by yourself!). I have actually watched quite a few Hallmark Christmas romances, however here I am choosing my favorite holiday movies overall so I am not really going into those. Instead I chose three holiday romance movies at the end.

Classics

Its a Wonderful Life: A true Christmas classic. This is one of my dad’s favorite movies so I had to include it. I won’t go to into detail but make sure you watch all the way through. There are some sad parts but the end is uplifting!

Home Alone: Such a classic, you really can’t go wrong with a night of ice skating, cookie baking and watching Home Alone. Although I was kind of terrified of these movies when I was younger, now they are so fun to watch at this time of year.

Elf: I don’t know why but this movie quickly became the go to in our house around Christmas. We watched it every year for at least 10 years (and probably more than once every year).

Santa Claus is Coming to Town: I highly enjoy the animations and the songs in this movie. It is a great Christmas classic, and good for kids!

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas: I have not actually watched the new one yet but I really looking forward to it. I have heard such great things. They older version is good but I always thought it was a little creepy.

Romance

Four Christmases: This romantic comedy is the perfect movie for some holiday laughs. There is family, romance and Reese Witherspoon. I highly recommend!

Love Actually: I really loved this movie. It is very heartwarming and beautiful but not naive about love. I just feel like the relationships are more realistic!

A Christmas Prince: Pretty much the definition of a cheesy christmas romance and I do have to say it is significantly better than other Netflix Christmas romance movies I’ve seen. The sequel is actually the most recent Christmas movie I watched and it was very cheesy but decent if you are looking for a feel good romance.

The Princess Switch: This movie is also very cheesy but I did end up thinking it was pretty cute. Its about a baker and a duchess who are related (and look the same) and everything that ensues when they find each other. There are some great nods to The Parent Trap which was fun.

As a side note I am really looking forward to watching The Christmas Chronicles (on Netflix) this year.

I thought I would do a quick round up of the TV shows I watch around the holidays. They aren’t necessarily holiday shows but they are all very feel good and fun.

The Great British Baking Show: I started watching this show when my friend Laura visited me back in September. It is strangely addicting and I am loving the holiday episodes.

Gilmore Girls: This is not really a holiday show but I really love all their wintery episodes, they always put me in the mood for some holiday fun.

Friends: This one is also not necessarily a holiday show but for me it is such a funny, feel good show, so I often associate it with the holidays. I have been watching so much this year and forgot how amazing it is!

Chill with Bob Ross: I am a big Bob Ross fan and this show is just so calming! If you aren’t familiar with Bob Ross, he is an amazing painter with some great commentary (the first episode features his squirrels).

I have been a bit MIA with family and friends in town but I wanted to put up a couple of posts this week to keep the ball rolling and bring in the holiday spirit. I tried to theme this week’s Around the Web post as a holiday one. I am super excited about all these things!

Disney’s Nutcracker: This has to be the number one trailer of the week. I cannot believe they are coming out with a Nutcracker. I like that there is a different sort of plot to differentiate this movie from the traditional ballet. It keeps the ballet special and unique.

Christmas Reading List: Of course I have to include some sort of book related item in this list. I absolutely love Christmas books but almost all of them are kids books. I love Jan Brett books so much that I read them around this time of year to this day. I have struggled however in finding some good Christmas novels to read that are not to cheesy. I really liked this book list and am definitely going to be getting at least one from the library.

Holiday Cheer Ideas: This list of 12 ways to spread holiday cheer is a great way to change it up and get out of your normal holiday routine. For me, at least, these were all ideas to open up and spread some of the love to strangers or people you didn’t plan on seeing. I really like this list and all the ideas it gave me.

Sugar Paper Wrapping Paper: This beautiful gold and white wrapping paper is my staple for this holiday season. I also got the polka dots and I am wrapping all my gifts in it with some tomato red bows and ribbons. I just love how simple yet festive it is.

Last Minute Gifts: Career girl daily also has a last minute gift guide up that is helpful for anyone you might have temporarily spaced on. They are definitely pretty specific gifts but I found at least one that would be great for a co-worker/girlfriend/female family member.

The Last Jedi: We went to see the newest Star Wars movie yesterday with the entire family. It was just great to get out with the whole family and see something that familiar. I did like the movie, especially the current characters.

Ocean’s 8 Cast: Okay this is totally not holiday related and in general I am not a huge fan of these movies, but this cast is amazing. It just speaks for itself. I am not sure how I feel about the plot and who knows what reviews will look like but I will watch it for that female power cast.

StrengthsFinder 2.0: As you may know I am in a major transition point right now and I have been struggling a lot with where to go next. My dad is sort of a business coach and knows a lot about transition and finding a path through everything. He bought me this book last week and I am psyched to get started. I have heard great things from several other people. It is not at all holiday related but has been super helpful for me this week.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day. I hope this holiday season brings lots of cheer!

So before actually getting into my winter goals I want to do a little bit of reflecting on the past several months. This fall was an exciting one despite my crazy work/living situation. I loved going to the apple orchards (I went so much more this year than I was expecting) and I loved getting to hang out with friends and family a bunch. I baked lots of pies, which was very fun because I kind of perfected my apple pie recipe. So in all it was a season full of fun adventures. Looking back I do realize that I wish I had gotten out some more for fall camping and fires. Maybe next year?

In the midst of holiday season, it feels like winter should be just around the corner. I say this because it has still not snowed while I have been in Colorado and there is none in the forecast as of yet. I complied my winter activities goals and it is making me even more anxious for some flakes to fall.

Sledding: When I starting think about this post I was brainstorming things that I have either never done or haven’t done in a really long time. For some reason I thought of sledding. It is something we always loved as kids but haven’t done in so long. I am not sure how much fun it will be now but I definitely want to give it a try.

Read all of Harry Potter: In all fairness I have already started this one. They holidays for some reason are the perfect time to bring some Harry Potter in. I am in the middle of the second book right now and it is such a fun experience. It has been a while since I read them and I am noticing lots of little differences between the movies and the books that I didn’t see before.

Ski at least 10 times: In high school this would have been super easy (probably would have go two or three times that) but throughout college it was really hard to get days in. Now I have a little more time and I am really hoping to take advantage of this.

Roast Chestnuts: This is a weird one for sure but at Thanksgiving these year we baked chestnuts for the first time and they were ok but not very flavorful. I thought that maybe roasting them could add something.

Go to the Opera: This is kind of an unconventional goal as well. I went to the Nutcracker last weekend with some of my family (hence the photos) and my grandmother and I talked about going to the opera together. No one else was very interested but I have never been to one and I think it could be a fun experience, especially with my grandmother.

Go to the hot springs: This is probably not something people usually think of as a winter thing but in Colorado there are so many hot springs and it is so much fun in the winter when it is all snowy and cold.

Hut trip: Again, kind of a Colorado thing but cross-country skiing to a hut in the mountains is one of my favorite things. My dad and I are really trying to make it happen this year since it has been a really long time since we actually stayed at a hut.

Christmas traditions are getting into full swing around here. It began with the going to see the Nutcracker at Macky Auditorium the weekend after Thanksgiving. I love getting dressed up and seeing the ballet. The theater is beautiful and the dancers very talented. I can’t even remember how old I was my first time but it is a favorite tradition for sure. I do remember that during intermission during my show I asked my mom (really loud) if it was ‘half time,’ during intermission and everyone around us laughed. I guess all that soccer really influenced how I thought about the ballet. This year my mom, sister, cousins and grandmother all attended the show. There were several changes this year that I was a little disappointed in but it was still amazing. I chose my whole outfit around this poncho that was my grandmothers. This is going to be one of my go to looks for the holidays. You can never go wrong with a classic black dress and knee-high boots.

Happy Monday! The holidays are approaching very quickly and I couldn’t be more excited. It is just such a fun time of year filled with so much family, food and fun outfits. So plaid anything is such an essential for the holidays. This has been such a dangerous post for me to write since I really love plaid and have been so tempted by almost everything. I compiled my favorite plaids for this holiday season. I tried to stay on the more affordable side so there are many options that won’t break the bank.

Lauren James has a couple of really great plaid pieces. I included several of their skirts above but they also have a great t-shirt dress in their plaid patterns. Old Navy is great for some very affordable options and L.L. Bean is my go to for plaid flannel shirts. I always check out J. Crew and J. Crew Factory because they usually have some great plaids around this tim of year.

Also these J. Crew bow flats are so adorable. There is also this incredible ASOS plaid jacket which is my dream right now, but is definitely on the pricier side. I am always excited to see what other people have found, so let me know! Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great start to your week!

I am going to just go ahead and admit to the fact that I am pretty much a baby when it comes to watching movies. I can’t do too much scary in one movie or even an episode, creepy or weird are a little better but I can only take it to a degree. I watched The Adams Family this month and I actually really liked it but any more and it would have been too much for me. This is a list of my favorite, non-horror, halloween movies.

Halloweentown: I have been watching all of the Halloweentown movies since I was probably ten and they are still not getting old. For me watching Halloweentown is how I start my fall. It christens the season. Yes it is definitely cheesy and get more cheesy with Halloweentown 2 and Halloweentown High.

Practical Magic: While movies like Halloweentown and Hocus Pocus are classically ‘Halloween’, Practical Magic is my favorite witch movie. It is a little darker than other films and not for kids but I really like it. It follows the women in a family of witches who were first persecuted in Salem and are now cursed in love. The story revolves around two sisters and their struggles to find love and break that curse.

The Adams Family: This was a new one for me this year. I have always heard it references but never got around to watching it. At first I was very creeped out. It is about a very strange and twisted family whose lives take a turn when Fester returns home.

The Craft: I thought I would really like this on since I am a big Charmed fan and I love Practical Magic. I found that the characters thought we just really not very likeable. The whole plot was kind of strange. The good thing was that I didn’t really expect anything that happened and I did actually like the main character by the end of the movie.

Hocus Pocus: This is iconic halloween. The month of October is not complete without watching Bette Midler and her witchy sisters at least three times. Strangely enough this season I have seen the first half probably five times but have yet to finish it.

The Nightmare Before Christmas: I was kind of reluctant to watch this one because for some reason I remember really not liking it. It must have been because I was young and terrified of all the creepy dolls but I loved it this time. It is so good! It is also just perfect in general since Christmas is also not too far away. For me its not really a kids movie but its definitely a classic.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch: By this I mean the movie although the show is pretty good too. This one is probably the most relatable since it follows Sabrina on a journey through high school. The big difference is that she discovers that she is a witch.

Beetlejuice: Beetlejuice is the comedy movie of this list. It is funny and involves lots of ghosts making it the perfect watch for some halloween laughs.

Hotel Transylvania: This movie is the most kid friendly of this list. It is an animated movie about Count Dracula, his daughter and a human boy. It is a great one for halloween fun with kids, be warned though there are many monsters involved.

Casper: There are so many Casper movies and shows to fill your halloween TV needs! Casper (the original movie) is my favorite. It is about the adorable ghost Casper and the adventure that ensues when some people come to find some treasure in the manor he lives in.

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Hello lovely people! Welcome to Explore. Love. Live. where I share my passion for style through adventure and travel.

While I am a full time graduate student, dedicating most of my time to never ending stats classes, anything herpetology and days of assays, I have many other passions and highly enjoy sharing what I can here. I love photography, books, fashion and most of all being outside! Right now I am digging shades of orange, cozy sweaters, crunchy leaves and (always) mountains. Thanks for stopping by!

Erin

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